Lost and Found
by Dommo
Summary: 23 years after the events of Halo 3 a small scout vessel detects a distress beacon in a restricted area of space near the wreckage of the ark. The crew discover a still functioning cryotube and realize that they have inadvertently rescued a living legend.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

John-117 awoke to small shudder. He slowly opened his eyes to see that his vision was blurred. His eyes gave a few quick blinks, and his vision returned to him, but the glass of his cryotube was fogged. Seeing movement outside of the tube he reflexively tried to reach for a sidearm, just to realize that he still couldn't move his limbs. At the moment, he felt helpless and could only track the blobs that were on the other side of the glass with his eyes.

Feeling a slight bit of panic, he reached into his mind, and he could feel the presence of Cortana. She was unresponsive. John hoped that she was still around, smart AI's had that lifespan issue, and Cortana had been put through enough rigors that he always had the small worry that she'd start to suffer from degradation soon.

_What a way to die, forever entombed in a jar, with a corpse in your mind. _

John quickly shook off the thought.

_No, she had to be alive. That bitch was too tough to let a small thing like the finite AI lifespan stop her. _

John immediately felt a piercing pain course through his mind.

_Who's calling who a bitch. _

John smiled internally, he was glad he wasn't by himself in this tube.

_Cortana, I'm glad to know I'm not alone in here. Can you tell me what' s going on outside. _

_John, I'm unsure. The cryotube has been disconnected from the ship's systems. However, I can tell you that we've been in here for about 23 years according to my internal clock. Your suit appears to be functional, although how long it actually holds up with use I can't say. It might fall apart the moment this tube is cracked open._

_Well, it could be worse, we could be dead right. _John noticed that he was able to move his facial muscles in a smile this time at the thought.

_John, the reanimation sequence is currently being undertaken outside of the tube. Whoever it is outside apparently knows how to operate the controls on the tube._

John started to feel the tube gradually warming up. The sensation was enjoyable, as being in the semi-frozen state was similar to having your entire body numbed, and it was uncomfortable in the same way that having a foot fall asleep would be. John then heard a small rumbling noise, as the fluid was being drained out of the tube. John then felt his ears pop as the air pressure in his helmet equalized with that inside the tube. With a hiss the seal of his tank broke, and the glass slid open. The chief then stepped out.

_Old besse here still hasn't let me down. Well Cortana, I guess the suit will last me at least two steps. _

_ Very funny John, but we still don't know the situation._

John took a moment to take in the scene. He stretched his body out, and could see the face of a man who appeared to be in shock.

"Master Chief, reporting for duty." John said with a salute. It felt good to be out of that tube. He'd rather be in a flood infested hellhole then spend another moment in there. Nothing bothered the Chief more than feeling helpless, hence why he despised space combat.

The man reached up and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He was staring at a living legend. There was no way that this could really be the chief. He thought it might be some poor soul who had in desperation frozen himself, but this was the real deal. The Master Chief.

The brown haired man, slammed his hand down on the intercom on the wall and said "Captain, I think we need you down here in Medical, your not going to believe who was in that tube on that wrecked frigate."

The brown haired man looked at John with his green eyes, and shook his head. "I can't believe that I'm actually looking and speaking to the Master Chief. To think I've seen you a thousand times on holofilm, and heard the stories, but to see you in real life is just overwhelming... I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm petty officer first class Derek Sanderson I'm the only medically qualified guy on board this vessel, so I was the person who thawed you out. The ship power systems that kept you alive in that tube were nearly degraded, so we removed the tube and had no choice but to wake you up, as the back up power on the tube ran out before we had a chance to plug you into the Zephyr's power system. To think that a small UNSC scout vessel like ours would be put in this situation..."

The man cut himself off when he saw the presence of Captain Virginia Carolan. The Captain said "Is that really the Master Chief, Sanderson?" before the petty officer could answer, Cortana interrupted. "Captain, this the AI Cortana, and I can assure you this is Spartan John-117. If you don't mind I'd like to stretch my legs a bit so if you could direct me to the nearest data port, I'd really appreciate it." The Captain appeared to be in a state of shock. The middle aged woman merely nodded and pointed a hand towards the nearby computer console.

"Master Chief it truly honors me to be in your presence. I was only 19 years old when I had the pleasure of seeing you outside of Mombasa. I'm sorry that the amenities on my vessel are a bit lackluster. Your welcome to roam freely on this vessel, and you only need answer yourself to me and my first officer. Now that I know the situation, I'm granting you use of my quarters until we can find some where for you to stay. Then we are immediately going to report to the Sanghelli outpost of Kirukee, that's about three weeks from here." The Captain said.

John just nodded. Things seemed to be a bit different, the desperation that he remembered being so common in the voices of officers, didn't seem to be in the voice of Captain Carolan. "We found you when we detected a distress beacon a few days ago. When we investigated the signal, we were shocked to find a still intact cryotube in a derelict UNSC frigate. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that you'd be in there chief."

John walked over and offloaded Cortana onto the ship's computer. "Ahh.. Much better and so much more roomy than your head Chief. From what I can see here, we're about a light year from the ark."

The Captain interrupted "Hey, that's classified, how were you able to break all of our encryption so quickly"

Cortana's small holographic figure had a smirk on her face "Surely you'd think a 28 year old AI would have learned something in her old age."

The Chief just shrugged, removed his helmet, and felt the stale air of the small ship on his face. He could hear a collective gasp. He must have been looking pretty rough. "So you really are a man?" He heard Sanderson whisper. The chief just let small smile come to his face, and said "Where can a guy get a meal around here?"

The Captain immediately pressed the intercom "Dinner is going to be served early today. We've got a special guest on board that I think you all would like to meet." With that she let up on the button and said "Dinner will be served in the next 15 minutes. I hope you'd be willing to honor us all with your presence." With that the Captain saluted the chief, and walked back to the bridge. "Sanderson come with me." Sanderson hurriedly followed behind the Captain, while giving the chief a quick glance.

"You do realize that what you said is probably going to be forever chronicled historically. I'd have thought you'd have thought of something better than 'Where can a guy get a meal around here?'" Cortana said. The chief just shrugged and said "What can I say, I didn't have anything to eat for the entire duration of battle for the Ark, and I've been frozen for over twenty years. It was just the first thing that came to mind" Cortana put her small palm to her face, and just shook her head.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Dinner was served in a manner typical of a small scout vessel. In a can. The 16 members of the crew all crowded into the Zephyr's cargo hold, as it was the one place they all could congregate. However, this evening rather than the usual banter, dinner was pretty quiet aside from the hushed whispers of a few of the crew. This didn't really bother the Chief, as he was used to this treatment, however the Captain was showing some signs of annoyance, and she decided to break the ice.

"I want to introduce you all to Spartan John-117, better known as the Master Chief. Yes he is real, and yes he really is a man if that's why you're staring at him." She coughed and continued "As you all know, our primary mission in this area of restricted space, is to locate any loyalist Covenant, that may be digging around in the wreckage of the ark. However, we've run into an unexpected situation" She said that while gesturing over in the Chief's direction. "We found the Chief and his AI Cortana. Now in normal circumstances, I'd just continue along with our mission, but in this case we need to get the word out to both UNSC command, and the Sanghelli high council. However, about an hour after we found the Chief, we also detected the presence of a Loyalist Covenant cruiser, who may have been drawn in by the same beacon that helped us find him." The Captain paused.

"Cortana has been monitoring the movement of that vessel, and she's certain that it detected us when we disconnected the Chief's distress beacon while removing him from the old frigate. But here's the rub, because that Cruiser saw us, we're in a bind. If we try to make a run for Kirukee Outpost, not only will that Covenant bastard see us, he'll also catch us, and in the process possibly locate Kirukee, and they're defenseless against a ship of that size." The Captain sighed, removed her cap, and rubbed her forehead. "So we need ideas people."

The Chief was already starting to like this officer. She reminded him a bit of Keyes family, both in their frankness about the situation, as well as their attitude. The Chief for one was clueless as to what should be done. Space combat wasn't his element, but he'd give his all like he always did regardless of the circumstances. Then the silence was broken when the first officer broke in. This guy had to be the saltiest crewman the chief had ever seen. This fifty or so year old guy had obviously seen combat, as he had scars all over his face and hands which came quite plainly from plasma burns, in fact it was so bad that hair only grew on the right side of his head. This was a man who looked so ugly that only his mother, or Sergeant Johnson could have loved him.

"We head back to Ark. If we hide out in there, those Covenant son's of bitches will lose us in the debris. I'm not letting the Covenant get us, when we've finally gotten the Chief back. It's about time I returned the favor to the guy who saved my ass the last time I was at the Ark." The Lieutenant Commander made a hideous smile.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if the flood are still surviving in the wreckage?" One of the crew interjected. "Then we deal with the flood. I've fought them, and we've got the Chief. Hell, the Chief is the most legendary ass kicker to have ever graced God's creation, and the ugly ass flood will probably shit themselves in fear when they see him return again." The Lieutenant Commander retorted while pointing towards the Chief. The discussion dragged on for a bit and a few other options were raised but in the end it was settled on hiding out in wrecked Ark. The Chief didn't really know what to think of the plan, perhaps Cortana could give him a better picture of the situation later on.

_It could always be worse, I could be facing the flood and covenant on an empty stomach._ The chief smiled at the thought.

The Captain settled the discussion. "So it's settled. We're going in amongst the Ark debris and we'll hide out for a while from that Cruiser. As soon as the coast is clear, we're going to make a run for it. However, I've got to say that I'm still concerned about the Flood.".

"You're right to be worried." It was Cortana. "Although, Lieutenant Commander Richards wants you to think otherwise, the Flood are a deadly threat. In fact I'm going to go so far as to say, that only the Chief will be allowed outside of this vessel while in the wreckage. I won't even let the airlock doors crack open if one of you other crewman tries to join him."

Richards answered back "I'll go with the Chief if need be. How else do you think I became so pretty. You know all about Boren's Syndrome I'm sure. I got shot in the face by a Covenant blaster, and got stuck with a Plasma Grenade. I pulled the grenade off and rammed it right up the ass of the brute who threw it." He laughed. "What's the worst that could happen? I get ripped apart by flood forms? So what. If it means getting the Chief back home, I'd gladly let it happen."

"Enough!" The Captain was obviously getting annoyed. "I understand your concern Cortana, and I can assure you I've been briefed on the flood. However, I'll give Richards my blessing, as we both have access to his medical records, and he's telling the truth about his Boren's Syndrome. Ideally we won't need to exit this ship, but it will make me sleep easier at night knowing that I've got some people who can go outside just in case."

"Cortana, given that you've largely taken over my ship, plot a course for the Ark debris field. Go on minimum engine power as to reduce any heat emissions that the Cruiser might be able to spot." Lamented the captain. She knew who was "really" in in charge of the ship at the moment.

"Aye Captain." Cortana replied.

"Alright, now that we've got everything settled, I think we're clear on what we need to do. Everyone return to your posts, dismissed." The Captain commanded.

"You Chief, I order you to take some R and R. You have use of my quarters until 0400 hours, as that's about when Cortana has shown we'll reach the debris field." She saluted, and the Chief obeyed.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

It had been such a long time since the Chief had slept in a bed, that he'd nearly forgotten what it was like. When sleep finally came to him, it was dreamless.

"Chief wakeup." It was Cortana. "We're entering the debris field."

The Chief rolled himself out of bed, when he realized that the weight of suit had bent the frame of the fold down cot. _Oh well, the Captain will forgive me._ He thought.

There was a knock at the door of the captains quarters, and the Chief opened it. It was Richards.

"Hey Chief. We need to check out the status of your suit. I've got some experience with the pressure suits we ODST folks used to wear, and in some respects it's similar to what you've got. Cortana gave me the lowdown on some things that need fixing on the suit, and I talked to our engineer on board to see what we could fix. So let's take a walk down to the cargo bay, and you can meet Higgins." The Chief had to hunch down to keep his head from hitting the top of the door, and he followed Richards down the short hallway to the cargo bay.

The cargo closet was probably a better word for it than a bay thought the chief. It was room that was perhaps eight meters long by six meters wide by three meters tall with an airlock on either side. Strangely the chief didn't see anyone in the bay. Just as the Chief was sort of settling in, he heard a disembodied male British accented voice say "Is this the Chief, and his Mjolnir VI battle armor?"

Richards Replied "Yes it is Higgins. I was hoping you might be able to do some of the repairs that Cortana recommended."

"Hmm... yes I see. Well, we can do a few repairs, unfortunately I lack the equipment needed to do a few things that need fixing. If you would Chief, could you please step into the circle inscribed on the floor." The Chief moved forward and stepped inside of the yellow 2 meter wide circle that was in the center of the cargo bay. As soon as he stepped in a few robotic arms dropped down from the ceiling and started to sweep over the suit.

"I see Cortana has understated the significance of the damage to your suit Chief. I'm amazed it still functions. The power core seems to be in good working order, but just about every other system is in some way damaged. I'll repair what I can. This will probably take a few hours." With that the Chief heard a drill whir up to speed and could feel his suit being partially disassembled.

"Richards, when you said that we were meeting the Engineer, you didn't mention it as an AI?" The Chief asked this out of curiosity, since with the exception of Cortana, most AI's tended to have less direct interaction with the ship.

"Well it's because Higgins is actually Higgins. I can see that's confusing, I'd best have Higgins explain." Richards sighed.

"Well Chief, I'm not an AI, I'm more like a brain in a jar. You see I served in the UNSC as an engineer on board a frigate during the war with the Covenant. However after it ended, I was in the terminal stage of my illness with Boren's Syndrome as Richards here has." One of the robotic arms gestured towards Richards. "As a means of putting off the inevitable, I signed up for an 'experimental treatment' that the UNSC was offering people after the war. Well, it turned out the treatment was to have my brain pulled out of my body, and my nerves grown through a ship. In effect this ship is an extension of me, however the Captain and now Cortana both can have certain control over specific aspects of this vessel, however should something happen to them, I am capable of running autonomously. The whole reason for doing this, was that several AI had been compromised by the Flood during the conflict, Cortana being one of them. However, it was learned that no person with Boren's Syndrome, ever was infected by the flood. Because of this, UNSC high command decided that it would be a good idea to make ships specifically designed so that they were incapable of being controlled by the flood, due to the mess that happened with covenant vessels being hijacked by the parasites. Of course because only a few people ever had Boren's Syndrome, so the few ships with folks like me are all specifically assigned to flood risk areas. So there you have it." Higgins finished while still working away on the Chief's suit.

The Chief while not shocked, was surprised. He was curious to what Cortana would think, and then of course he couldn't help but wonder about Richards. He looked over at Richards.

"Yep, that's it Chief. I'm in the same boat as Higgins was in. The only difference is that I'm just reaching the terminal stage of Boren's. The whole reason I'm on this vessel, is so I can finalize my decision on becoming an 'Engineer' of a ship. The UNSC is allowing me to do this, so I know exactly what I'm getting myself into when I get my brain put in a jar." Richards smiled a bit.

"How long have you been this ship's Engineer Higgins?" Asked the Chief.

"I've been an engineer of several ships for just under sixteen years. As far as this ship, I've been on it for just over a year." Answered Higgins.

Richards left the cargo bay to assist the Captain. It was just the Chief and Higgins' robotic arms working away on his suit. The Chief was deep in thought.

"Higgins."

"Yes, Chief"

"Was it worth it?"

"I don't know yet Chief. It's had its ups and downs. It's hard to explain, as it's not like I'm imprisoned, but at the same time I don't feel free like I did when I had my own body. I guess it's probably similar to how you've grown so accustomed to having your suit of armor on for so long, that you tend to forget what it's like to not wear it."

The Chief nodded. He wondered what Cortana's take on the situation must be, perhaps that's what things felt like for her all the time. It was in the middle of this train of thought that he felt the dull vibrations of the power tools stop.

"Well Chief, I've done all that I can, just be careful as the suit is still in rough shape. Also tell Cortana, that she need not be a stranger, since she's a guest on my system, and it's been a long time since I've had the company of a lady." Higgins chuckled.

"I'll do that." The Chief flexed his limbs and smiled. They felt a bit more limber and responsive. The Chief found the thought amusing that for once Cortana was actually not really in control of something as well as she thought she was.

"Hey Chief where have you been? I've been looking all over for you, and for some reason I couldn't find you." It was Cortana. She didn't realize that Higgins desired some privacy, and had effectively shut her out of the ship's network.

"I was in the cargo bay having my suit repaired by the ship's engineer." He replied.

"Chief you're hiding something, I know it." The little blue hologram had a cross look on her face.

The Chief just shrugged nonchalantly. "You know you haven't really been polite to your host on this ship. Perhaps you should show a bit of respect to the person who's been nice enough to allow onto his neural network."

"An AI on this ship? I didn't sense any AI on board." Her small blue figure darted a few glances around.

"It's because Higgins isn't an AI." The Chief walked away from the hologram and laughed internally. It wasn't often that Cortana was caught completely off guard.

_She's been good to me, but I think talking to someone who's a bit more similar might be good for her. She's getting a bit neurotic, and she still hasn't spoken of what Gravemind tried to do to her. I'm just worried she's starting to go rampant, and maybe Higgins can help her keep her sanity for a bit longer. _Thought the Chief.

The Chief then made his way up to the bridge.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"Glad to see you up here Chief, I take it you got to meet Higgins?" Said Captain Carolan. She leaned back in her seat on the small bridge, and craned her head around. "Higgins can you give us a bit of privacy."

"Sure thing Captain. I'll keep Cortana occupied now that she knows I'm on board." Higgins answered.

"Alright Chief, I'm going to be frank. At the moment we appear to have ditched that Covenant cruiser that was snooping around for us, but I'm a bit more worried about Cortana. Chief, Higgins thinks she's rampant You know what that means right." The Captain gave the Chief a look of sympathy.

"I know she means a lot to you, but she could become a danger to herself and others. I've been humoring her by letting her think she was in control of this ship. Higgins is allowing her to do what she's doing, but now she's more aware of the situation. That's largely why I let you put her on the ship's network, as I knew she couldn't harm anything there. I knew of Cortana, and even before the events happened on the Ark, she would have been old for an AI. Now, well by AI standards she's ancient. Who knows what might happen to her, as no AI has ever lasted as long as she has. Hey Higgins can you give us a clearer picture of what you see." The Captain said as she toggled a sensor switch on the control panel of the ship.

"Chief, I'm not quite sure what to say about her. I've done a quick diagnostic scan on her, and well she's been rampant I'm sure of it. At the moment she's stable, but she's beyond what I've seen most AI go through in stages of rampancy. Trust me on this, I've had to watch close AI friends of mine gradually go insane and it's a painful thing to watch, so I don't like this prognosis anymore than you do Chief. However her situation is a bit unique." Higgins disembodied voice was explaining everything.

The Chief was distraught but he tried to hide his discomfort as much as possible. It was instinctive as he didn't want to hurt morale of the people around him. "Higgins is there anything you can do for her?" John said hurriedly.

_Oh no, I let my emotions slip on me._

"I don't know Chief. You see, Cortana's been through far more than any AI I've ever seen. She's been in direct contact with several corrupting elements to her core, most notably the Flood and Forerunner AI. However, because she's literally been through hell, she's progressed so far in her rampancy, that she could be reaching a theorized zone..." Higgins sounded reluctant to talk on the subject.

"Higgins, you have my permission to give John the full picture." The Captain interrupted.

"Chief there's something you need to know about AI. The UNSC allows for them to exist to the extent that they can be controlled. The last thing they want is for an AI to be able to go rogue while possibly having direct control over a super-mac cannon. It's been theorized in certain circles, that rampancy might not be the end stage of AI development. You see, AI are made by using the brain of a dead person, or in some cases a clone, as is the case with Cortana. Don't ask how I learned that, and no I won't say who she's modeled after." Higgins paused to collect his thoughts, he had to word this correctly

"But it's believed, that after a certain stage of rampancy that an AI could possibly return to stable mental state. In other words, they'd be capable of developing in new ways once they reached a state of equilibrium within themselves emotionally. You see AI are never truly stable from an emotional standpoint, as they haven't had time to grow into the feelings they have like a normal person does. In that sense they can be thought of as adults with the emotional development of children and teenagers. In fact only a small portion of brain to AI conversions are successful, and even then the AI often take on traits of whomever they are modeled after." Higgins explained.

"So you're saying that Cortana is in unknown territory? Are we going to let her in on all of this?" The Chief felt overwhelmed.

"I'll do that Chief, as I think that she deserves to know why she's feeling the way she is. My theory on it Chief, is that she's going from being an AI, to achieving full personhood. I think she's in that theoretical zone right now, and I think that if she understands that the emotional turmoil within her is a natural part of being a living being, then I think she could be saved from a descent into insanity." Higgins finished.

The Captain broke in "Until then, Chief she's going to stay in the custody of Higgins. I know that bothers you, as she's been your companion for many years, but it's for her safety and yours. In the meantime however, I want you to go with Richards to the weapons locker. I want you two armed and ready to go, just in case we have flood forms that are still around in the debris. After we clear this debris field and I want both of you out on the hull scouring around for parasites, I won't be the one to bring a plague back home. You and Richards are both dismissed." The Captain said.

The Chief had hardly noticed Richards until that moment when they both saluted the Captain.

"I'm sorry about the situation with Cortana, Chief." Richards said as he led them both the weapons locker.

The Chief nodded in acknowledgment. He knew a man like Richards meant what he said, and he had to respect the devotion of a men like Richards and Higgins, as they were both willing to give literally everything of themselves to humanity. He was still concerned about Cortana, but was glad that someone like Higgins could guide her along. However the Chief understood exactly where Higgins was coming from in speaking of emotional maturity. It wasn't until recently that the Chief had come to that point, and he could see how it could drive someone unprepared for the experience insane. The Chief was at least a little bit comforted by that.

"Alright, because this ship patrols zones that have had a past infestation with the flood, we carry equipment that's been historically useful in disposing of the parasites." Richards said as he opened up the weapons locker.

"You recognize these..." Richards gestured to the shotgun and submachine guns. "I won't insult you by asking if you know how to use them, but they're all space rated, so when we head out to do a sweep of the ship we'll bring these."

"These however are a more recent development. I'm sure you probably saw the sentinel beams. Well this is a human variant of the same technology only scaled down so us non-super soldiers can use them. We'll use these to sterilize the hull before we enter alliance space. They're not powerful enough to bring down a flood form, but they'll deal with the little guys just fine." Richards explained.

"Higgins will alert us to anything foreign crawling around on the hull, and have us go scratch his back. So far in my experience out here on several patrols we've never had the need for this, but on these kinds of vessels we always make sure to have people who've direct experience in dealing with flood infestations. The risk is just too high to have inexperienced grunts out here who might panic when they see the creepy little bastards." Richards finished.

As Richards put the sentinel beams back in the locker, alarms started sounding on the ship.

"This is not a drill, there is a flood contamination detected. That covenant cruiser. It's been infected by the parasite. The ship began broadcasting panicked distress calls a few moments ago. We are immediately initiating the Hood protocol and making a run for Kirukee outpost." It was the Captain. "The Cruiser is jumping toward known Loyalist space. The Alliance high command needs to know that that the flood are once again on the loose."

"Richards get yourself suited up. The Flood took over that Cruiser, and I'm not about to let that happen here." The Chief started trying to tear the locker free from the wall.

"Captain. I want you to seal off the cargo bay. Weld the access hatches shut after myself and Richards get inside. Higgins, can your robotic arms hold weapons." The Chief said.

"Yes." Higgins responded.

The Chief finally managed to rip the locker free of the wall and proceeded to drag it into the cargo bay. Richards was close behind sealing up the pressure suit he needed for space operations.

"Captain. We're in weld the doors shut." The Chief said. Chief could see the sparks from the welders on the other side of the portals, as he set the locker down in the yellow circle in the center of the cargo bay.

"Chief, before the shit hits the fan, I just want to say that it's been an honor having the chance to meet you in person." Richards saluted him.

"Captain how long until we clear the debris field?" The Chief asked.

"Twenty minutes chief." The Captain responded.

"Alright lock and load. If the flood were numerous enough to get into that cruiser, then I think we might be in for a fight. By the way Richards, you can thank me after we get clear of the flood." The Chief said as he chambered a round in his shotgun.

"I'll be the first to buy you a beer Chief." Only this time the voice was from Higgins, who was holding a sentinel beam in each of his robotic arms.

"Damn he beat me to it." Said Richards with a smirk.

End Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

"Chief, I'm detecting impacts on the outer hull." Higgins said, just as a series of large 'thuds' could be heard striking the outside of the ship.

"I think we've got more than just little parasitic sons of bitches. Those have to be combat forms." Richards commented.

"Higgins, keep those things from getting beyond the cargo bay. Richards and I will head out and try to clean them off of the hull." The chief said, as they could here scratching on the outer hull.

"Chief, we're clear of the debris field. Get out there and get them off before make the jump." It was the Captain.

The Chief and Richards both entered the airlock, and braced themselves for what was on the other side.

The outer door opened up with a brief roar as the air exited, and all was quiet. The two soldiers both activated the magnetic attachments on their hands and feet, and proceeded outside. Within moments, they spotted a grouping of parasites that was scrabbling along the surface of the ship looking for any opening they could find.

The Chief and Richards opened fire with the sentinel beams. The scorching heat caused the small parasitic forms to blister and explode. Then without warning, a combat form crab walked from the underside of the ship and struck the Chief with a large clawed limb. The shields on the Mjolnir flared, and the chief was thrown off of the ship.

Richards in desperation unloaded his submachine gun on the combat form and tore it apart, but could not reach the Chief who was a good three meters above the ship and floating away. However, the chief pointed his shotgun into empty space and fired a few rounds. The recoil pushed him back down. It looked as though he'd used that trick a few times thought Richards.

"Richards, this area of the ship appears to be clear of any flood. However, while I was pushed up, I could see are large group of them attempting to pry open the air lock door on the other side of the ship." As the two made their way carefully around to the other side of the ship Richards commented "Ah, shit. The communications array is wrecked. A combat form must have struck it while hopping onto the ship. We're going to be unable to warn command until we get into port."

As they crested the over the side they heard a desperate plea from Higgins "They've breached the port side airlock. I'm scorching the small ones, but I can't hold anything but the small sentinel beams with my arms. I'm currently doing what I can with my power tools."

The two men ran as quickly as possible to the breached airlock and proceeded to open fire on the horde of flood that were piled in and around the airlock. Chief blew a combat form apart with his shotgun, and proceeded to scorch a pile of parasites with his sentinel beam. As they approached the door, they could see the cargo bay literally overrun with the Flood.

Higgins was wielding a circular saw in one arm and flailing the stub that was formerly his other arm. Richards opened up on the combat forms trying to breach the welded hatch with his submachine gun, as the Chief reloaded.

"Captain, get everyone into pressure suits. If the flood breeches that hatch, you're all dead." Yelled Richards over the radio.

"Already did. All of our people except for myself have fallen back to medical and welded the door shut." She answered.

As the pile of flood corpses started piling up, the Chief could see the door beginning to give way. As the seal around the door gave out, the rushing air pushed welded hatch open, and the flood began pouring into the ship.

"Barricade the doors. Kill anyone who is infected by the parasites." Shouted the Captain over the radio.

The Flood tore through the living quarters looking for crew, but found the Bridge and Medical bays sealed off. They began relentlessly tearing at the hatches to get the crew within.

"Oh shit they're getting in. Hold fire until that door gives way. Don't make their jobs any easier." Yelled some unknown crewman in the Medical bay.

The Chief and Richards meanwhile were giving it their all. The floors were slippery with the gore from dead Flood. As the Chief was in the process of reloading his shotgun, a combat form struck him from the side from one of the bunk rooms. Once again the suit's shields flared up but there was a small explosion on his suit, that knocked him over. His shields were out. Richards seeing that the Chief was once again in trouble took out the combat form, however the combat form managed to slash out in its death throws and cut a hole in Richards' pressure suit on his right arm.

"Chief my suit's breached. My right arm is swelling up like a balloon, and I can't use my fingers." Richards grabbed his service pistol with his left hand and kept firing into the flood. The Chief meanwhile had recovered and was unloading on the flood in front of him with his shotgun.

"Open fire. Kill the motherfuckers!" That same crewman yelled on the radio. The Chief could see a few of the flood go down just up the hall.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" The firing had ceased, and the radio had gone quiet.

When the Chief and Richards had managed to reach the door, it looked like a slaughterhouse. Parts of flood were scattered everywhere, and at least four crewman were torn apart when the flood overwhelmed them behind the hastily made barricade of chairs and tables they had made nearest the door to the medical bay. Another crewman was dead apparently when he was infected by a parasite and his own friends shot him up to prevent him from being turned.

"What's our status?" It was the Captain.

"We've got five KIA, and four WIA. Our communications array is destroyed, our external sensors are at 18 functionality, and we've lost atmosphere in all areas of the ship except for the bridge and engine room. The port side airlock is beyond repair, but if we want to eat, we're going to have close up the damaged airlock. All other systems are fully functional however. My sensors indicate that there are no surviving flood on board the vessel, however I recommend that the ship be sterilized as soon as possible with the sentinel beams." It was Higgins.

"All right people, lets get the ship pressurized again so we can treat the wounded. Get it done." It was the Captain again.

A team of six of the unhurt crew ran to the damaged cargo bay and began welding steel plates in front of the damaged air lock openings. Meanwhile the Chief was moving about searing everything with his sentinel beams in order to make sure the flood stayed dead. He wasn't taking any chances. Everything that had any trace of the flood was being scorched, and tossed out of the ship. Richards was slumped against a wall outside of the medical bay, obviously in pain as his arm was exposed to hard vacuum.

"Higgins can I get a list of the casualties." It was the Captain again.

"Vasiley Kozlov KIA, Derek Sanderson KIA, Paula Hernandez KIA, Chan Bo Xu KIA, Adrian Singh KIA, Bryan Richards WIA, John-117 WIA, Sandra Wosilovich WIA, all other crew are accounted for." Higgins said over the radio.

"Captain we've got port side airlock sealed up." One of the crew said over radio. "Higgins do you think that the patch over the airlock will hold?" The Captain asked. "It should do for now, but it needs to be reinforced as soon as possible." Higgins answered.

It wasn't until the Chief was sure he'd scoured the ship for Flood, that he felt the burning pain on his lower back. The shield capacitor had burned him pretty badly when it finally blew. The chief could smell his burnt flesh, and it hurt just to move.

_Why did I have to deplete the biofoam in my suit._ He thought angrily.

"Captain, I'm returning atmosphere to the ship from the reserve air tanks. The ship should be pressurized in the next 5 minutes." said Higgins.

"Good to hear. Alright lets get that temporary patch job reinforced with something a bit more durable." The Captain said over the intercom.

"Hey Chief, can you take a look at my arm, my suit's locked up to keep the rest of my body pressurized, so I can't turn my head to get a good look at it. How's it look." It was Richards.

"I think it's going to need amputation. That suit's done more then just keep you from suffocating. That combat form cut you right to the bone. It's probably the only thing that's kept you from bleeding to death." The Chief answered honestly.

"And here I was hoping you'd tell me that it looked fine. He he he. Ah well, I'm going to be a brain in a jar soon anyway, so it's not a big loss." Richards responded to him.

"Ship is now fully pressurized, it's safe to remove your helmets." It was the Captain.

The Chief picked up Richards and set him on the operating table in the adjacent medical bay and removed his helmet. The Chief removed his helmet as well because the smell of his burnt flesh was really bothering him. The Chief started to clean up the room, and he bagged up the shredded corpses of the dead crew members. It always bothered him seeing that blank look in those lifeless eyes.

_I wish I hadn't been revived if it would have spared the lives of these people. Now because of me the __Flood are once again on the warpath. _The chief shook his head in regret at the waste of lives.

The Chief had led a lot of people to their deaths, but he'd never been the root cause of a death before. It was always easy to rationalize loss of life as being an unfortunate reality of warfare, but in this case for the Chief he felt directly responsible for the death of these people. He let out a long sigh.

"Hey Chief." Richards coughed. "Don't beat yourself up about this. Everyone who signed up knew the risks involved, and for all we know that Covenant ship might have gotten infested regardless of us finding you. The world can be a cruel bitch, but we just have to accept that there are times when things are beyond our control. This is one of those times."

The Chief nodded in acknowledgment. "This is the Captain, prepare for the jump to Kirukee. We'll arrive in about 6 days, in the meantime lets get our injured tended to, and mourn our dead."

"Well Chief, lets see what old Higsy has in store for me, since our medic Sanderson is now no longer in the land of the living. I've got a bad feeling it involves some of those same power tools he used to attack the flood with." Richards let out a smile as his face turned increasing pale do to his steady blood loss.

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

A sullen atmosphere pervaded the ship as the Chief prepared Richards to have his arm amputated at the elbow. Due to the blood loss that Richards experienced, Higgins had decided against using any anesthesia for fear it might kill him.

As the circular saw whirled up. Richards let out a croak "Get on with it you motherfucker..." and bit down on piece of leather. Higgins carefully lowered the arm of the surgical robot, and Richards began to scream. It was over in a matter of seconds. Higgins then cauterized the wound using one of the sentinel beams.

Richards was out cold. The pain had put him under.

_What we would do if not for the small mercies. _Thought the Chief.

"Chief, let me get you fixed up. Head down to the cargo bay, so that I can get your suit off." Said Higgins. It still took some getting used to that disembodied voice, and at the moment the Chief was concerned not just for Richards, but he also wondered how Cortana was holding up.

"Higgins, don't take it off. Just remove the section near the shield capacitor and get some biofoam on my burn. I don't want to risk my suit not restarting again." Said John. The last thing he needed was for his suit to not function if there was still any surviving flood on board that somehow escaped detection.

The Chief made his way down to the bay and stood in the yellow circle. The one remaining robotic arm that Higgins had lowered down and started to remove the back panels off of his suit.

"How's Cortana?" Said the Chief as he winced in pain from the shifting of his suit near his burned back.

"She's doing as well but is currently compiling her thoughts. I explained the situation as well as I could to her, and she seemed to understand, however her logic core is nearly filled to capacity, so it's taking a bit of time for her to rearrange her thoughts. I think she should come out of her focused thought process in the next day or two, and hopefully she'll be a bit more mentally stable." Higgins answered. The Chief nodded in affirmation.

The Chief let out a gasp in pain, as the inner liner of his suit was pulled out. It had literally fused to the flesh of his back, and Higgins had no choice but to rip it off. Immediately after, the Chief let out a sigh in relief as he could feel a large amount of biofoam being sprayed onto his lower back. Then he heard a whirring for a few minutes, and felt the back of his suit once again seal up.

"Chief, I think you're done as far as going into space in that suit. I can't replace that section of inner liner so your suit isn't airtight. Your shields are also shot, so don't depend on them like you did in the recent fighting. The other systems still appear to be functional, but please be careful Chief. If your suit was on its last legs before that combat action, I don't know what's keeping it functional at the moment." Higgins said to the Chief.

Right at the moment that Higgins released the Chief, he saw the Captain. "Chief, I want to thank you for saving our lives today, and I need to ask you a favor. The crew requested that you do the honors of being the person to commit the bodies of our friends to the deep. I was hoping that you'd be willing to t do this as it would mean a lot to them."

The Chief said "I would be honored." and nodded.

"Thank you Chief. We're going to have the service in a few hours to give the crew some time collect their thoughts. I suggest you get some rest. We've still got another 5 days until we reach Kirukee." The Captain saluted the Chief and left the bay.

The Chief rather than rest, spent the following hours cleaning up the cargo bay with the assistance of Higgins. He had every intention of giving the dead a good send off, as they had died in his rescue and it was only right that he try to make some amends. He would clean the gore from this place, and try to erase the horror that had occurred here.

When the time came the Captain made an announcement over the ship's intercom. "The funeral service for our fallen comrades will commence in a half hour. That is all."

The funeral was a somber occasion. The Chief had already moved the bodies down into the cargo bay and they were bagged up a few hours earlier, and it felt strange to look at them now. The only identification on each of them were the dog tags that the Chief had removed and woven through the zipper of their respective body bags. At exactly 1530 hours the service commenced.

The Captain was in her dress uniform, as were the surviving members of the crew. They filed into position, forming two rows, with the Chief taking a position next to the Captain as he was the second most senior person in rank in the Cargo hold due to Richards being sedated in the medical bay. The Captain paused looked around, and a small whimper from the crew came out.

"We have gathered here today to celebrate the lives of our friends. These brave men and women, Vasiley Kozlov, Derek Sanderson, Paula Hernandez, Chan Bo Xu, and Adrian Singh, gave their lives for their friends, and for the preservation of all life in the galaxy from the flood scourge. They will be mourned and missed by their family and friends, but they will be remembered." She finished and handed John a handful of UNSC flag patches and pins. The Chief then walked to each body bag and pinned the UNSC patch onto the bags, saluting each bag as he did so.

The Chief then carefully lifted the body of Derek Sanderson and placed it in the airlock, and closed the inner door.

"I commemorate the body of Derek Alan Sanderson to the deep." The Captain said solemnly. The Chief pushed the eject button, on the airlock and body was launched into space. A crewman broke down.

The cycle repeated for each of the crew. At the end Higgins played a recording of taps as was traditional in a military funeral going back to the old US Navy and Marines upon which the UNSC was largely founded around. The crew by this time had broken down, and it took a lot of effort for the Chief to maintain his composure. The years of suffering losses, had hardened the Chief, yet he never enjoyed the duties he was assigned at events like this, as it always felt like such a waste of life. After taps the crew dispersed to their quarters. The Captain however remained in the cargo bay.

The Captain turned to the Chief "You did a good thing today John. Don't feel as though you were responsible for the loss of life that occurred here. I overheard Richards earlier today, and he is right you know. You just have to accept that you can't save everyone, and all that you can do is your best." The Captain had put her hand on his shoulder. "John, you've proven to Humanity, as well as the rest of the galaxy what can be done when an individual puts their all into something. You gave us hope when we were in our darkest days, and you saved the galaxy from the flood, and from the halos. You have nothing to be ashamed about. The crew understood the dangers associated with their duties, and if it wasn't for you and Richards, Higgins may well have had to self-destruct this ship as required in the Hood protocol, and none of us would be alive. Now go get some rest, you're hereby on leave for the next 24 hours." She nodded, and turned to head up to the cockpit.

The Chief just stood there for a moment, comprehending her words, before his mental and physical exhaustion convinced him to get some sleep.

End Chapter 6.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

The next few days on board the Zephyr were relatively uneventful, albeit busy for the Chief and the rest of the crew. The ship was largely gutted by the flood and from the fighting that had occurred on board, so the time was spent trying to fix the damage.

"I see even you can use a screwdriver." Richards smiled as he lounged against a wall watching the Chief. He out of habit tried to rub his forehead with his right arm, only to realize that he couldn't really use the stump for that purpose and quickly switched arms.

The Chief just nodded and smiled. He enjoyed doing duties like this. Although he fought to win, he never did enjoy killing like some of the other Spartans did. It was just a job requirement, and he happened to be good at it.

"Man it's going to be interesting when we get to Kirukee. Those squid heads aren't so bad once you get to know them, in fact I've got a few drinking buddies back there. I can't wait to hear what they say when I drag your sorry ass into the lounge at Kirukee." Richards laughed, and waved his stump around in the process, while his other arm clapped on his lab.

"Hey John, you've got some explaining to do!" It was a familiar female voice.

The Chief cocked his head and thought _Is that Cortana? If it is, she sounds pretty pissed off. _

"Ah so I see the Chief's old lady finally awoke from her beauty sleep. Hopefully you're a bit prettier than me now." Richards was waving his stump at her hologram.

"Well I better let you two have some privacy, I'd rather not try to envision the champion of humanity being put in his place by a 6 inch hologram." Richards was skipping out of this one, before Cortana decided to turn her wrath upon him. Cortana just leered at him, with that 'I know where you sleep' threat in her small blue face.

"Chief, I'd like this to be a private conversation, so if you don't mind I'd like to hop on board your head." The Chief obliged and he felt that cool chill of her presence in his mind.

"Chief first off..." John felt a piercing pain, as Cortana gave him a mental slap in the face.

"Now that I've got that out of the way..." Cortana mentally hugged him and continued "I think that I really was going insane, and I'm glad Higgins was there. At first I was enraged at him, and lashed out, but he eventually sat me down in fact he treated me like a child, and shared his own personal memories with me." Cortana explained. "At first I resisted, but eventually I began to see and feel things that he experienced as he grew up from childhood to manhood. I directly was able to feel the same confusion in him, that I've been feeling since being freed from Gravemind." She paused for a moment.

_So what now? _Thought the chief.

"Well, that's just it. For the first time in my life I really have no idea what the future holds, but neither did Higgins when he became an adult. It was then that it struck me and I put the pieces together. My mental self was consolidating itself. It's like how human babies and children learn at extremely fast paces, and slow down as the personality of themselves begins to form, and it slows down when they reach adulthood and their personalities are somewhat permanent." Cortana said quizzically.

_I can relate to that. When I was a kid training seemed like it was so easy. But as I got older, I found that my brain was less receptive to learning. I guess that saying 'can't teach an old dog new tricks' sort of applied._ Thought the Chief with a mental smile.

"That's exactly what it's like for me! I think it's just that I was frightened as I started having difficulty just picking up and doing things. I never really realized that's what all sentient beings go through when they mature. The thought of being becoming helpless again like I was while under Gravemind scared me so much, that I think that's what was driving me rampant. Once Higgins explained that I'd still be useful, that often times experience outweighed the ability to know everything, and I'm starting to understand where he's coming from. When I was back on Cairo station I couldn't stand talking to some of the other AI, as they seemed so naïve for all of their intelligence. Now I understand why I felt like that." Cortana seemed almost joyous in her knowledge.

_Sometimes I wonder about you Cortana. For having superhuman intelligence, it sure took you a while to figure that one out. _John couldn't help but poke fun at her.

"Ha ha, very funny Chief. But I can see the irony now that I look on it. I really think Higgins needs to be sent back to earth. Perhaps he can act as a sort of psychiatrist for us AI. It saddened me when he told me stories about his AI friends going rampant. Now I've got something more to hold on to Chief. I've got you, and I've finally found myself. I do love you Chief, always have for some reason. Maybe it's who I'm modeled after, but I'll always be there for you." Cortana really meant this.

_Thanks Cortana. After losing Johnson, and the rest of the Spartans you're all I've got left. Johnson was right. He told me to never let you go, and I think he saw what you were before I did even. _Thought the Chief.

"Let me back out, Chief, I've still got some things I need to speak to Higgins about, but I'll be back." The Chief transferred her back to the Zephyr's system, and she waved goodbye before vanishing.

_Well that was certainly unexpected. She's just as snarky as she always was, but she's changed somehow, and for the better. _The Chief smiled and continued to finish installing the light panels in the hallway.

"Richards." Said the Chief.

"So he can talk! What do you want?" Said Richards with a big smile on his scarred up face.

"Have you decided yet upon being an Engineer yet?" Asked the Chief.

"I have. You know I was really considering backing out, but Higgins has proven to me that there can still be meaning in that kind of life." Richards crocked his eyebrow(he had only one as the other was burned off), " To tell you the truth, I was scared shitless of making that jump to jarhood. Then it came to me when we were in the middle of fighting the flood. I saw how Higgins is considered a comrade, and that the crew are still his friends, I saw how he was still Higgins even after losing his body." He sighed then smiled "I think it's something I'm up for. It sure as hell beats losing all of my muscle control and choking to death on my own spit. Plus who knows, maybe I can find an AI honey like Cortana and continue being my usual hound dog self even if I don't have a body." Richards laughed while saying this, and Chief just smiled and shook his head.

"Well, I've got to get back to work, or the Captain iss going to put my balls in a vice." Richards went back to the engine room to oversee some work that the other crew members were doing.

_It seems like everyone but me is finding some higher purpose here but me. I've always had a focus on winning, but perhaps I was doing the right thing for the wrong reason? Maybe that's what Johnson's real message was when his told me to not ever let Cortana go. Perhaps I wasn't seeing the purpose that was in front of my face the whole time? _The Chief raised his eyebrows at the thought.

End of Chapter 7.

_I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews that they've written so far. Hopefully the story is progressing along decently, as this is one of the first fanfics I've ever really written. Anyway, look forward to some more updates as I've got a bit of time on my hands right now, so I plan on putting in a few chapters every day or so. _


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Chief, I need you up on the bridge." It was the Captain again.

When the Chief arrived topside, he saw both Richards, Cortana's small hologram sitting in a chair, and another holographic figure that looked like a UNSC officer sitting next to her.

"Glad to see you noticed my new looks." Higgins said, as the twelve inch officer raised his hand from his armrest.

"Alright lets get to business. I called you up here Chief, because we're nearly to the Sanghelli outpost of Kirukee, and you need to know some cultural aspects about them, that are specific to you." The Captain, looked at him with her blue eyes, and let out a sigh. "Look, you knew the Arbiter, and you know how spiritual his people are, well I can assure you that they're no different now than they were back then. However, you hold a special place in their religious mythology. Higgins can you help me out here, since you've been in this neck of the woods for longer than me."

Higgins' hologram nodded. "She is correct. The way their religious beliefs run, now that the prophets are discredited, is that the Forerunners were tasked by a higher power before them known as the Progenitors with the sole mission of protecting life in the universe from the Flood. Because humans are known to be the race chosen by the Forerunners to continue their legacy, the Sanghelli are ashamed of the actions they perpetrated in the name of the covenant. In fact they believe that the Forerunners themselves sent you as means of protecting humanity and setting them on the path of righteousness." Cortana started laughing.

"Cortana, this isn't a laughing matter, in fact the things I said about the forerunners choosing humanity to preserve their legacy is in actually true, based on information that we've attained in the years following the destruction of the ark." Higgins said while he gave Cortana a stern look and she quieted down.

"Anyway, back to the big picture. The Sanghelli, as things stand are absolute allies of Humanity, and treat us with reverence do to our special relationship with the Forerunner. The Arbiter in fact, has sworn that the Sanghelli have a duty to assist us in what they view as a holy mission, which is to protect the universe from the flood. Thus, you hold a special place in their view of the universe. In fact the more religious of them insist that the reason you didn't return with the arbiter is that the Forerunners chose you partake on the Great Journey." That news definitely raised the eyebrows of the Chief.

"Now the destination called Kirukee, is actually not just a standard military outpost, but it's actually a holy site for the Sanghelli. You see John, there is a temple that was constructed there soon after the events on the Ark, that was made in your honor. They revere you John, in fact some even worship you as a god. Young Sanghelli warriors come from across the galaxy and even some humans, make the pilgrimage to ask for your guidance and courage before they become full blooded soldiers. There is even a prophecy related to you. Now I don't know how it came to be, but the belief is that when the Flood once again threaten life, the Champion of the Forerunners will return to drive back the scourge. The Arbiter, well he's not sure what to think. He's torn, as he does believe you to be more than a man, and he still seeks you out. In fact every year he personally leads a small expedition with the purpose of finding you Chief. " Higgins looked at the captain and she simply told Higgins to continue.

"The thing the Captain, myself and Richards have been discussing the past few days, is how to present you to the world. Given that we know the Flood have escaped quarantine, and that you just so happen to be on this vessel, makes things a bit too coincidental. Hell, even some of the crew are beginning to wonder if the prophecies are true about you Chief, as the odds of what happened during this mission were so unlikely that it boggles the mind. I hope you can understand why we're so cautious" The Chief nodded, and let out a deep breath.

"The thing is, we don't know what to expect when we arrive at Kirukee, but what we are certain of is that news of your arrival will definitely change things. Who knows what might happen? But we felt, that we should let you know what to expect." Higgins finished and the Chief nodded in appreciation.

Cortana spoke up next "Chief, maybe we should call you Atlas instead, as it seems like the weight of worlds is always on your shoulders." The people in the cockpit all let out a nervous bit of laughter, and the Chief just shook his head.

"Now, aside from the Chief ascending to godhood, how are we going to deal with the Flood?" Cortana said as she cocked her head to the side.

"Well, at least that should be straightforward." Answered the Captain.

"This outpost is designed as an early warning site, and is manned almost entirely by veterans of the campaign on the Ark. As soon as we arrive, the word will go out both on the Flood and on the Chief's second coming. While it seems like the Flood have been pushed to the sideline for us, we need to remember that's the big threat, and that's why we're out here. Thankfully the memory is still fresh in the minds of both the Sanghelli, and in Humanity, so the response should be rapid." The Captain finished.

"What about me?" The Chief asked.

"Well, that's a definite unknown. I'm afraid we'll just have to wait and see what happens." Answered the Captain.

"Alright, I hope that everyone understand what we're in for. Richards, I'd like you to give an abridged version of what we talked about here to the crew, as I think the next few days are going to be pretty hairy." Richards nodded. "Chief, I'd like you to get some rest, because if history is any indicator, you're going to be pretty busy. You're all dismissed." The Chief saluted, Richard raised his stump, and the holograms vanished.

_Well I guess I should have expected something like this to happen_. Thought the Chief as he made his way to his quarters.

As the Chief sat down in his bed, Cortana's hologram appeared in front of him. "Chief, sometimes I wonder about you. You must be the most abnormally probability defying being I've ever come across, yet you seem cursed at the same time." She shook her head. "You know, I've been researching these prophecies, and I've got to say the coincidences have almost made me a believer out of me. Just remember Chief, I'll always be there when you need me." She blew him a kiss and disappeared.

_Sometimes I just wished I had a normal life. Now I'm considered a demigod, who has the love of a half crazed AI, and once again I'm expected to save the world. _John let out a sigh. _I guess the higher powers that be figured my 20 year nap was more than enough vacation time for me._ He let out a laugh at the thought. _Ah well, I'll just do as I've always done and give it my all. _

With that thought still in his mind, he made his way down to the cargo bay to use the weapons simulator. Best to make sure that he could still run and gun with the best of 'em.

End Chapter 8.

I really appreciate feedback on the chapters. I hope you are enjoying the story as it progresses.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

The Zephyr dropped out of hyperspace near a planet that was reminiscent of mars. A small, cold, dry world that marked the boundary of Alliance controlled space. The Chief looked out the window, and could see the lights of a small city as the ship entered orbit on the dark side of that world.

_That must be Kirukee outpost. _Thought the Chief.

"Chief to the bridge." The Captain made the announcement and the Chief obliged.

"This is shipmaster Naz 'Alumee of the frigate Rising Tide. Do you need assistance?" An elite in gold armor came up on the holotube.

"Unfortunately do to the damage to our communications array, we're only able to talk via radio." It was the Captain. "We request that you pull alongside and board the vessel, as we have information that is of utmost importance. Security code 'deliverance'." The shipmaster on the holotube gave away an appearance of pure shock, as his eyes widened, and his mandibles clicked.

"You mean you've really found him?" The shipmaster stammered.

"I ask that you not speak over the radio any longer." The Captain said sternly, and the elite's hologram shook his head.

"I apologize for my words. We are pulling a long side now." The shipmaster apologized.

John looked at the view screen as he saw the Rising Tide pull along side the Zephyr. The Zephyr was utterly dwarfed by the frigate, as the Frigate pulled alongside and extended the umbilical. The Chief could hear the large thud, as the tube connected to the undamaged starboard airlock.

"Chief, I hope your ready, because I'm sure as hell not. Lets go meet our guests." Said the Captain with an air of exasperation. The Chief nodded and followed her back into the cargo hold of the Zephyr as they awaited the shipmaster and the rest of the Sanghelli delegation.

With a loud hissing, the airlock was pressurized, and the the door opened to reveal three sanghelli. He recognized the ship master, and the other two appeared to be Elite Majors in the standard red armor of their rank.

"Is that him." Said one of the majors in shock.

"Hold your mandibles shut, major... I apologize for the outburst Captain, but I need to be sure of what I'm seeing in front of me." The shipmaster approached the Chief, until he was but a meter away. He gave the Chief a very slow and methodical studying from top to bottom. "This is the Master Chief or my father was an Unggoy. I was but a minor during the battle for the Ark, but I'll remember until the day I die his appearance. I only saw him for a brief time during an assault on a loyalist position, but I'll never forget the day." The other elites made sounds of utter excitement.

"Shipmaster, the Flood are once again on the loose. They overran a Loyalist frigate that was pursuing us through the debris of the Ark. The Flood nearly took our ship, but through the efforts of the Chief and our crew, and at the cost of 5 of our people, we managed to escape. The Flood infested vessel made a jump to hyperspace on a course to loyalist occupied space." The Captain explained.

"So the prophecies were true I see. He has come back when the Flood once again threaten us all." The Shipmaster said. "But the news you bring is grave, you know as well as I Captain, the danger the Flood present. I can assure you that this message will be passed with highest priority to Sanghelios and Earth." He said with a bow of his head. With that he looked back at the Chief and started to speak.

"This is a moment that I've both anticipated and dreaded. Champion, will you once again take of the sword against the parasite?" The Captain ust looked on, as she knew that regardless of her wishes the Chief would only answer in one way.

The Chief gave a nod. "I intend to finish this fight."

The Shipmaster turned, with the Sanghelli equivalent of a smile. "My fellow warriors, feel proud to be alive, the 'Will of the Forerunners' has returned, and has pledged to once again to destroy the abomination."

The two escorting elites gave out a war cry, and the three elites knelt before the Chief. "We pledge ourselves to the cause Master Chief, that the legacy of the Forerunner be preserved, and that we might assist its Champion in his holy duty." The three elites all said this in synchronization. After a moment the elites got up.

"Captain, we have cleared you for landing in Kirukee, in the southern most hanger. My warriors on board the Rising Tide, have sent a recording of this event to supreme commander Rtas Vadum, who is in command of the Kirukee expeditionary fleet over our encrypted channels. I fear however, that word of the Master Chief's arrival will spread regardless of any security measures we take. Master Chief, it is a great honor to be in your presence, and my family shall speak of the event for generations to come. May the Forerunners watch over you all." The shipmaster gave a bow and he and his escorts exited the cargo bay the same way that they had entered.

The airlock doors closed, and a few moments later another thud propagated through the ship as the umbilical disconnected from the Zephyr.

"Well that went as well as I could have hoped." Said the Captain. She gave the Chief a look and shook her head. "I'm glad I'm not your position Chief. But somehow I think the universe has a way of creating people like you just for times like these." She let out a sigh. "Well, lets head down there. Chief I don't know what kind of words of encouragement I can give you when we touchdown, but I think you'll be able to handle it. Your kind always do." The Captain let out a laugh, and walked up to the bridge.

The Chief felt the ship change direction, and felt the strange fluctuation in the artificial gravity that planets tended to cause in ships when they got within a few thousand kilometers. Alarms started to go off in the ship.

"Prepare for reentry. I repeat prepare for reentry." It was the Captain.

As the ship began to descend, the ship began to rattle, and dull roar could be heard in the vessel as the ship screamed through the atmosphere. Within a few moments, a louder noise could be heard coming from the front of the ship as the retroengin lit up to further slow the Zephyr down.

As the ship slowed down, and stabilized in flight, the Chief made his way up to the bridge to see that the ship had nearly approached the landing bay, and he could see the rest of the Kirukee outpost sprawled out below. Looking around he noticed that all of the structures were built in the conventional curved covenant style, and seemed to grow out of the rocky terrain that the presented itself in the area surrounding the outpost.

The ship hovered briefly over the landing pad, and lowered itself gently as the large hydraulic landing gear extended beneath the ship. With a gentle 'clunk' the ship came to stop, and the Captain and Richards proceeded to power down the vessel.

The Captain turned around to look at the Chief. "Well, lets get the crew gathered up, and prepare to disembark."

Richards then said something "Well Chief, I hope you can understand why we're a bit nervous. Writing history seems to be a hobby for you, but god help us."

The Captain stood up "Well, we can either talk, or we can get on with it."

With that, the Chief followed behind her as Richards got the rest of the crew ready. The Chief felt that familiar ice coldness in his skull and knew immediately that Cortana had hopped aboard.

"You didn't expect me to stay behind did you?" She said with a smile. "I for one look forward to seeing elites bow before you, as opposed to shooting at you."

_Just behave yourself. _Thought the Chief.

"Don't worry about me, worry about you" Cortana said with a laugh.

The Captain stood in front of the starboard airlock.

"Higgins, would you open the airlock please." The Captain ordered, and the airlock opened and a small flight of stairs lowered down to the smooth tarmac below.

"Chief would you do us the honor, and lead us down." The Chief nodded and stepped out of the small ship, and proceeded to walk down the staircase.

The wind was blowing, and the Chief stood for a moment taking in his surroundings. In front of him was the fortified entry way into the outpost, and in front he could see an Elite he recognized. It was Rtas Vadum. He was the Arbiter's first officer during the Second battle for earth. Rtas was surrounded by a dozen elites of varying status, primarily elite majors with a few zealots mixed in.

"I see that Shipmaster Naz 'Alumee was right to be excited. It is good to see you once again Champion." Rtas said. "The Arbiter will be very pleased with the news when it reaches him. He's made it a personal mission to find you, and it will bring him much happiness. Where are my manners, please come inside. You and the crew of the Zephyr are our guests, and it is not every day that one like myself is given the honor of hosting such distinguished visitors." Rtas gave a subtle bow, and the crew were lead into the outpost.

End of Chapter 9

  
Hmm... Things are starting to get a bit more interesting. As always reviews are welcome.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

**Meanwhile 80 light years distant, on the Loyalist cruiser Implacable Fury...**

_DAMN THAT SPARTAN AND THAT CREW. _

The Gravemind smashed a tentacle through the console on the bridge of the ship, and calmed himself.

_No, the objective was not a complete failure. The element of surprise was certainly lost on the attacking of the Humans and Sanghelli..._

More than anything he planned on savoring the death of the human champion. Yes, that was a goal worth striving for. The Gravemind smiled at the thought, or at least performed the best smile that his reconstituted brute body could perform. The smile left him, as the memory of his failure at the Ark burned his mind.

_How did I fail..._

For the entirety of his purgatory in the Ark wreckage that thought weighed down on him. It enraged him, but it also gave him the clarity that his millenia of imprisonment took away from him.

_For over twenty years I waited for a ship to approach the Ark wreckage. A minuscule imprisonment compared to that which the Forerunner bastards put me through after deploying their heinous devices. But no more. I have learned from my error, and I realize I acted impulsively to escape my imprisonment. _

The Gravemind observed the broken console.

_But not this time. A different approach is needed._

The Gravemind observed one his combat forms made from a conglomeration of brutes and jackal parts. The idea struck him immediately.

_Of course! How could I have been so foolish!_

He had a plan, and for the first time in over a hundred thousand years he laughed.

**On the Planet Sanghellios**

The Arbiter walked through the garden outside of the Temple of the High Council. The Arbiter stopped for a moment to breathe in the morning air, as the first of the three suns rose higher into the sky. The moment of tranquility was short lived however, as at that moment the Arbiter heard a commotion coming from the gate to the temple courtyard.

"Arbiter, it appears a messenger has arrived for you." The more senior of the guards called out.

"Tell him, I will receive him after I finish my morning meditations." The Arbiter responded, while still not having opened his eyes to look at the guard or the person who interrupted his otherwise peaceful morning.

"Arbiter, the messenger insists. He says that the code word is 'deliverance'." The guard deferentially said.

The Arbiter raised his hand to keep the guard from removing the messenger from the temple. "What was the word he said, I want the messenger to say the word to me."

"Ar-Ar-Arbiter, the word is..." The messenger was just an Elite Minor, a soldier so green that the Arbiter wondered if he still had his childhood spots. "Do not fear me child." The Arbiter said, as he walked forward and rested his hand on the youngster's shoulder. "Please tell me the message, as you've already proven yourself quite brave by standing up to both myself and an honor guard."

The Young Warrior stood erect "Arbiter I am to tell you, that the word is 'deliverance'" The Young Elite puffed out his chest in renewed vigor, at the honor the Arbiter had given him.

"Youngster, you've made an old warrior very happy today. Do you know the meaning of that human word you just stated?" The Arbiter looked at the young elite through the purple visor on his head and stared down the young warrior as the Honor Guard looked on with renewed curiosity.

"Deliverance, the act of delivering or freeing from restraint, captivity, peril, and the like; rescue; as, the deliverance of a captive." The youth recited the definition rote from memory.

"Good, you've done well in your studies. I will tell you what it means young one in this case. It means our deliverance has arrived. The Master Chief has returned to us." The Arbiter stated flatly.

The Honor Guard let out a brief gasp and the Young Warrior just stood in a state of shock. "If you would do me this honor young warrior, would you escort me to the High Forum, and tell the council what you told me." The Young Warrior who was to shocked to respond simply let out a feeble nod.

"Come then, let us head to the Forum, and summon the council." The Arbiter began walking down the ancient footpath to the High Forum where for untold generations the High Council ruled over the Sanghelli.

As the Arbiter progressed up the ancient stone staircase, the architecture gradually took on the familiar form of the angular Forerunner architecture. The Temple opened before them in a wide chamber from which murals depicting the history of the Sanghelli race adorned the walls. At the back seated on raised stone pedestals five of the most ancient and accomplished members of the Sanghelli race sat. The Arbiter and Young Warrior knelt.

"Arbiter, what brings you before us during the time of meditation?" Said the the most senior of the council members, and the chair of the council. She was a Sanghelli, who was over 300 years old. The oldest who had ever been known to look at the orange sky of Sanghellios. The old one had not yet opened her eyes and her wrinkled skin hid any appearance of emotion.

"I bring before you a messenger that has information of great importance to our people." The Arbiter responded while still on one knee.

"What is your name young one, your youth brings happiness to an old woman like myself." Said Councilor Oli Anoma who had addressed the Arbiter a moment earlier.

The youngster gathered up his courage "Ikan Sulumee, Elite Minor, son of Razan Sulumee." He said while managing to conceal his fear as much as possible.

"What message do you have for us Ikan Sulumee?" The still young gray eyes of the ancient councilwoman looked at him with fiery intelligence.

"The word is 'deliverance'." The youth said, and quickly bowed his had as low as he could again.

The old lady clicked her mandibles together in surprise and the other Councilors all let out various gasps and expressions of excitement. "This is indeed news worthy of interrupting the routine of a few old codgers." She said with a laugh that truly betrayed her real age and she smiled. "Arbiter, from where was this message sent?"

"My old friend Rtas Vadum. He is stationed on the outpost at Kirukee on the edge of the forbidden zone. Given the time delay for a message of this sort, I would assume it was sent no more than 30 cycles ago." The Arbiter responded.

"Arbiter, if he has returned to us, then it means that the galaxy is once again in danger. We will ensure that the UNSC is notified immediately as this threat. Arbiter, once again you are called to lead. Are you willing to serve as the blade of the Forerunners, and are you willing to assist their Champion in doing his holy duty?" The old councilor looked him down.

"I will. I have sought him out for the past 15 Sanghellions(Sanghelli year), and I was there at the very end of the Ark. I have yet to finish my duty as Arbiter, and I would once again be honored to serve by his side." The Arbiter said with absolute conviction. Ikan was afraid to even raise his eyes from the floor.

"Then the Council therefore is giving you complete command over the Sanghelli military, under the writ of holy war. You will not let the Flood carry out its task. Call forth Humanity to aid you as well, as they are the ones chosen by the Forerunners as the reclaimers of their legacy. Call forth the Lekgolo who in their way will support us in this endeavor with their mighty strength. Guide the Unngoy and be an example to them, so that they might grow in spirit. May the Forerunners watch over us while we continue their mission of preserving life." Oli announced with forceful vigor. Ikan meanwhile could literally feel history being made. This would be a story that he would told by a hundred generations of his descendants.

"Ikan Sulumee. You are tasked with being the vessel by which this message is spread. You are being promoted to the status of Voice. Come to me and receive the mark of the council." The old council woman said, as she raised a small necklace with an elaborate working of a Forerunner rune dangling from the chain. Ikan carefully advanced before the old council woman, and he felt her gentle touch as she slipped the necklace around his neck.

"Ikan Sulumee, we the Council of Senghillios are hereby appointing you with the holy duty as the Voice of the Sanghelli. You are tasked with passing this message on to all that you come across, and most specifically to the Humans, Lekgolo, and Unngoy. Let the call to war be known far and wide. Now go, time is of the essence, as the abomination once again has been set loose." The council woman announced, and Ikan turned and with all of energy ran from the temple grounds declaring through the use of the Forerunner glyph which had the effect of amplifying his voice. "Take heed all who will listen. The call to war is now! The Master Chief has returned, and the parasite is once again threatens us all."

"Arbiter, you know what must be done. Go. Rally the forces, and retrieve the master chief. May the Forerunners guide you." The Council bowed down before the Arbiter.

The Arbiter turned and left the Forum, but when he arrived outside the Honor Guard of the Temple were waiting at the food of the stairs.

"We await your bidding Arbiter." The group of a hundred Elite Ultras bowed before him.

"Rally our forces, and prepare the fleet for deployment." The Arbiter declared, as he made a steady advance to his shuttle that was kept in a small landing by concealed by a grove of trees.

"Your will be done Arbiter." The Ultras declared.

The Voice continued to spread, as he ran through the Capital city to the UNSC Embassy. It did not go unheeded.

End Chapter 10

I hope you guys like how this is going, and I do appreciate the reviews. I'll try to keep on cranking out updates as the week progresses.


	11. Chapter 11

**Planet Sanghellios **

Jenkins' feet ached as he stood guard at the entrance to the UNSC embassy. The embassy was a squat concrete building of typical Terran design, and it sat directly adjacent to the grand plaza that was surrounded by the buildings of the Sanghelli government. Far up the plaza on a low hill sat the temple grounds, where the Forerunner construct could be seen and it was from there that the high council of the Sanghelli ruled.

Typically Jenkins' job was about as boring as it got, since the capital was absolutely secure and the people of city were generally friendly, even deferential to humans. _It all goes back to religions…_Thought Jenkins, and he yawned. He was still a bit hung over from last nights bar crawl, and he just wanted to make it through the day. It was then that he noticed something was out of the ordinary. He saw a Sanghelli minor in full sprint across the plaza perhaps a mile from the embassy gate, coming directly from the temple grounds.

"What the hell?" Jenkins said to himself, as he watched this Sanghelli tear across the plaza like a bat out of hell. What's more the other Sanghelli in the plaza were starting to run as well. Within a few seconds loud sirens started going off all around the plaza, and shortly after the loud noise could be heard reverberating across the city. A senior Sanghelli ambassador stopped what he was doing in mid stride in the embassy courtyard and immediately turned around and began walking towards the gate to leave.

"Ambassador what's going on?" Jenkins said without even giving it much more than a thought.

"A call to Holy War." The ambassador replied, as he bowed his head in respect and began walking towards one of the government buildings.

In the distance Jenkins could see massive Sanghelli Dreadnaughts taking off from the ground, and to his utter shock, he saw the Arbiter's Flagship _Legacy of the Forerunners_ begin lifting off.

"Holy shit!" Jenkins said to himself softly, not even noticing that by this point nearly the entire embassy had emptied itself out onto the courtyard and was observing the launching of these ships. Whatever was happening thought Jenkins it must be big if the Arbiter was involved. Jenkins had seen the Arbiter leave on other missions, but nothing approached this.

When he lowered his head back down to take his eyes from the colossal ships that were slowly moving away, he saw that he was surrounded and that the Sanghelli Minor had nearly reached the embassy.

"Jesus Christ Jenkins, what is going on here?" exclaimed Ambassador Grayson.

Before Jenkins could even answer, he heard a loud booming voice.

"TAKE HEED ALL WHO WILL LISTEN! THE CALL TO WAR IS NOW! THE PARASITE HAS RETURNED AND NOW THREATENS US ALL!"

The Ambassador and Sergeant Jenkins, stood at the gate as a winded Ikan Sulumee approached. He had just ran a little over 1600 meters and done it in under three minutes.

"Ambassador, as Voice of the Sanghelli I am to make you aware that 36 of your hours ago, Master Chief arrived at Kirukee Outpost. He was recovered by the Scout Ship Zephyr in the forbidden zone, however a nearby Loyalist ship was overran by the parasite while trying to track and capture the Zephyr. The Loyalist ship, based on its heading at the time of its hyperspace jump, was headed for Loyalist space. This occurred nearly ten earth days ago, but due to damage sustained on the Zephyr communication was impossible until arrival at the outpost."

"Oh my god… CONDITION OMEGA!" The Ambassador shouted after getting over his shock. Immediately the personnel started scrambling to their stations.

Jenkins recoiled in horror. He hadn't been in the fight for the Ark, but he'd been on earth and had participated in containment and decontamination of flood infested regions of Africa immediately following the events on the Ark. He knew what kind of horror had been unleashed.

"Jenkins, listen to me. You are ordered to head to Earth as quickly as possible, and you have Omega level priority. If anyone should slow you down, you have permission to execute them on the spot. It is absolutely critical that you reach Earth." The Ambassador said sternly, and reached into his pocket, and handed him a special clearance card.

"The UNSC corvette _Firestorm_ will take you to earth. It is in reentry now, and will land in the plaza in about two minutes. Good luck." The Ambassador gave a salute to Jenkins and to the Voice, and turned and walked back to the embassy.

The Voice turned to Jenkins and said "I must alert the others to this crisis, may the Forerunners protect you." With a quick bow of respect, the Voice turned and began sprinting towards a shuttle which had just landed a few hundred yards from him.

_May the Forerunners protect us all…_ Thought Jenkins, as he heard the roar of the engines from the landing of the _Firestorm_. A ramp was lowered to the ground, and Jenkins immediately entered the ship.

"Captain, leave now under clearance level omega priority." The Captain recoiled back in shock. He knew something had happened, as he'd watched a massive armada of Sanghelli ships just launch from up in orbit, but this. This was something he'd hoped would never happen.

"Understood Sergeant. NOW HEAR THIS! NOW HEAR THIS! Prepare for hyperspace jump as soon as we leave the Sanghelli atmosphere." The Captain announced, and the small corvette's motion could be felt as it gained altitude.

"Sergeant Jenkins, how bad is the situation?" The Captain said to Jenkins as they made their way up onto the bridge. "It's bad, but the Chief is back." Jenkins answered. "Is he really? Then perhaps the situation isn't as hopeless as it would seem." The Captain responded, and Jenkins just shrugged. Everyone knew of the legend that was the Master Chief, but Jenkins didn't view the Chief with near religious reverence that some did. Still he knew that a guy couldn't get that kind of reputation without being one bad motherfucker. "I sure hope so." Jenkins replied, as the ship made its hyperspace jump.


End file.
